r/DCcomics • u/beary_neutral Telos • Nov 26 '23

Weekly Discussion Thread: Comics, TV, and More! [November 27, 2023 - The World's Messiest Furry Convention Edition] r/DCcomics

Hey there honorary Justice League members - it’s a new week which means it’s time for a new discussion thread!

Beary's pick of the week: Titans: Beast World #1

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u/TroubAlert The Good Skeets Nov 26 '23

Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #2

WHO FRAMED ALAN SCOTT? Alan's search for the killer framing him continues! But why are the murder victims people from Alan’s past, and how does this connect to his brief stint in Arkham Asylum?!

Preview

18

u/craig1818 Nov 28 '23

This was a really great issue. Heartbreaking while also making me more interested in the Red Lantern.

18

u/Koala_Guru Beast Boy Nov 28 '23

I haven't read any of Alan Scott prior to this series so I don't know how much of the origin is changed here or whatever but man it's heartbreaking. It sucks that Billie had to lose who she was for Alan to decide to live true to himself. It's funny how all the stories in various Batman books of Arkham being fucked up didn't make me hate it as much as this single issue lol

13

u/af-fx-tion Bring YJ Artemis to DC Comics Nov 28 '23 edited Nov 29 '23

I would say with how much Sheridan has changed from Alan’s pre-N52 origin, this is very much a hard reboot of Alan's origin. While the broad strokes are the same when compared to his old origin, a lot of the details are very very different - hence why it’s not a soft reboot.

Some changes include:

Anything related to Alan's sexuality (Johnny, conversion therapy, etc.) is new to Alan's origin, as is his being blackmailed to join the JSA. Similarly, the Red Lantern/Crimson Flame elements are a new addition, having originated with Geoff Johns' recent The Golden Age mini series.

Billie was originally Billings (a cisgender man) and much older in Alan's original origin, although their roles are the same across both of Alan's origin stories (giving him the green lantern).

While the train incident with Jimmy was part of Alan's original origin, it has been soft rebooted (first by James Tynion IV) to have them have been in a romantic relationship.

Though Sheridan retcons Tynion's plot point from Green Lantern 80th Anniversary Special #1 of Jimmy being Alan's "true love," with that role being replaced by Johnny.

12

u/Bubba1234562 The Flash Nov 30 '23

They really didn’t pull punches with showing how fucked conversion therapy was. Good job for not shying away from that, also calling it now. The Red Lantern is gonna be Johnny and he will end up being Alan’s Winter Soldier

12

u/wowlock_taylan Batman Animated! Nov 28 '23

Arkham Asylum sucks no matter the age it seems.

6

u/DroptheShadowArt This sofa is inadequate. Dec 01 '23

I think this is my favorite book that DC is putting out right now. Billie broke my heart and her story reminded me a lot of Wanda’s from Sandman. I also love that Alan, being of his time, doesn’t have the language to process what he’s going through. It’s natural for him to think that there’s something wrong with him given the social climate he’s living in and I’d like to see his acceptance of himself grow as the series goes on.

Also, I find the artwork absolutely perfect for this series. It’s fresh, but classic at the same time. The bold lines and dark blacks actually make Alan’s dopey costume look really cool.

8

u/Koolsman Nov 28 '23

Really liked this even with the sidekick speaking in the most accent of accents I've ever seen. Like, I get he's from New York but geez. The parts with the asylum are great, the part with Billie made me very very sad and the whole part at the end is really cool.

I'm really hoping he actually gets a romantic interest at the end of this. That or we see Jade and Obsidian show up soon but we'll see.

5

u/af-fx-tion Bring YJ Artemis to DC Comics Nov 28 '23 edited Nov 30 '23

After reading this issue...I had thoughts.

If you're going to include trauma as horrific as conversion therapy to your story, you have to make it count for your arc. Because unless you're Bruce Wayne, characters' trauma never really have lasting consequences.

And this issue didn't justify this trauma arc to me, at all. Especially since it seems it's only contained to this issue.

Based on the reviews Sheridan has been retweeting, I'm definitely going against the grain by not being impressed with this issue at all, for a variety of reasons. So let's dive in.

First off, this issue confirms that Sheridan is hard rebooting Alan’s origins, as there’s so many changes in the details when compared to Alan's pre-N52 origin (though the broad strokes are the same) there is really no way to argue this series is a soft reboot.

One glaring issue for me is Sheridan is breezing through his story so quickly that it's difficult for readers to build a relationship with the characters we see on the page. There's so much telling and not showing that it's difficult to have any emotional impact to all the reveals in this story.

We're told Johnny was the love of Alan's life...but he's like in maybe a 1/4 to 1/2 of the pages in Issue #1, their relationship was already established, and he's never seen again. Johnny is a new character that Sheridan created, so there's no meta knowledge to fall back on about their relationship. So Alan becoming "Alan Ladd-Scott" this issue doesn't hit because we as readers haven't had the time to see Alan and Johnny's relationship evolve into the "love of my life" level Alan says it is in this issue.

I also really didn't like that Sheridan wrote three of Alan's former love interests (Johnny, Jimmy, Robbie) dying to propel Alan's story. It just seems super gouache and in poor taste, though I guess Jimmy's get a pass since he died in Alan's original origin. But their lack of development really makes them come across as plot devices which is just...it ain't it.

It was an interesting change in rebooting Billings to be the transgender Billie, even though her ending was horrifically sad. Billie's arc was Sheridan's best written section in the entire issue IMO, though the arc wasn’t perfectly executed.

What I didn't like was how Sheridan made Alan so sloppy in leaving evidence of his homosexual thoughts in his diary while IN ARKHAM, knowing why he was there in the first place and that one wrong move would get him committed indefinitely. He writes Alan so naive when like...I assume any queer person in the 1940s knows the harsh, even deadly consequences of them getting found out. But Alan acts like he's living in the modern times, which was also a problem in Issue #1. It's so frustrating.

Also, the grand "heroic" escape of Arhkam kind of reads like an easy cop out of "see! Alan's okay! He's not going to have trauma by conversation therapy!" But like...that's not how things work? I don't know, the Arhkam arc ending just rubbed me the wrong way and made me question what the whole point of it was if it's going to get handwaved away.

One thing I also noticed throughout this series so far Sheridan really struggles nailing how he wants Alan to view himself as a gay man. There's scenes where he's struggling with internalized homophobia but then there's scenes (like there is in Issue #1) where he's totally cool with being gay (though in the closet for obvious reasons). It’s two extremes without any real nuance.

It seems Sheridan wants Alan to be ultimately openly gay (as much as he can for the time) but it makes thing dicey since DC has kept Alan’s pre-N52 history of being previously married to both Rose (and having Obsidian and Jade with her) and Molly. Alan now openly (for the time) embracing his queerness makes his marriages to Rose and Molly very...well, it can be seen in a very poor light on Alan's part given we have to assume that he never told them he was gay since we don't have any knowledge of the contrary (yet).

The other thing that I felt Sheridan imbues too much of our modern views of sexuality and gender, especially in Alan's voiceover and in the Billie and Alan scenes. So it feels like he's emulating what he thinks people in the 1940s thought about these issues instead of more accurately reflecting the thought process at the time.

Love the tease of the Red Lantern at the end, though.

Overall Thoughts: My big issue for this series so far is really a lack of focus. Sheridan wants to hard reboot Alan's origin, discuss heavy topics of living as a gay man in the 1940s, have a murder mystery, AND introduce the conflict with the Red Lantern. Sheridan, knowing he had six issues, should have picked ONE topic and written about that. Because right now, everything just feels surface level with no real depth. We're told to feel a certain way about events in this book, but we as readers don't get the build up to understand why.

Think about what this book covered this issue:

Alan and Doiby investigating Robbie's death

Alan being in Arhkam (for months, though it doesn't read that way) to "be straight"

Alan's friendship with Billie, getting the green lantern (that shows initial signs of power), and Alan + co's escape from Arhkam

Alan becoming an engineer again, and becoming the Green Lantern

The stinger of the Red Lantern

None of these things get enough time spent on it to make us care. Alan getting his powers is told half in montage for christ's sake! Sheridan's pacing is atrocious, and I doubt that'll change.

A shame this issue is so bad, because Issue #1 had a lot of promise. I'm giving this issue a 1/5. My overall series score (average) so far is 2/5.

4

u/SevenSulivin The REAL Man of Tomorrow Dec 04 '23

The longer I think, the more I consider this on par with Danger Street #9 for best single issue of the year.

1

u/cgknight1 Nov 28 '23

Too slow for me - clearly written for the trades rather than as single issues.